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River of the gods: genius, courage, and betrayal in the search for the source of the Nile

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Language:
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Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The harrowing story of one of the great feats of exploration of all time and its complicated legacy—from the New York Times bestselling author of The River of Doubt and Destiny of the Republic

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: THE WASHINGTON POST • GOODREADS

"A lean, fast-paced account of the almost absurdly dangerous quest by [Richard Burton and John Speke] to solve the geographic riddle of their era." —The New York Times Book Review

For millennia the location of the Nile River’s headwaters was shrouded in mystery. In the 19th century, there was  a frenzy of interest in ancient Egypt. At the same time, European powers sent off waves of explorations intended to map the unknown corners of the globe – and extend their colonial empires.

Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke were sent by the Royal Geographical Society to claim the prize for England. Burton spoke twenty-nine languages, and was a decorated soldier. He was also mercurial, subtle, and an iconoclastic atheist. Speke was a young aristocrat and Army officer determined to make his mark, passionate about hunting, Burton’s opposite in temperament and beliefs.

From the start the two men clashed. They would endure tremendous hardships, illness, and constant setbacks. Two years in, deep in the African interior, Burton became too sick to press on, but Speke did, and claimed he found the source in a great lake that he christened Lake Victoria. When they returned to England, Speke rushed to take credit, disparaging Burton. Burton disputed his claim, and Speke launched another expedition to Africa to prove it. The two became venomous enemies, with the public siding with the more charismatic Burton, to Speke’s great envy. The day before they were to publicly debate,Speke shot himself.

Yet there was a third man on both expeditions, his name obscured by imperial annals, whose exploits were even more extraordinary. This was Sidi Mubarak Bombay, who was enslaved and shipped from his home village in East Africa to India. When the man who purchased him died, he made his way into the local Sultan’s army, and eventually traveled back to Africa, where he used his resourcefulness, linguistic prowess and raw courage to forge a living as a guide. Without Bombay and men like him, who led, carried, and protected the expedition, neither Englishman would have come close to the headwaters of the Nile, or perhaps even survived.

In River of the Gods Candice Millard has written another peerless story of courage and adventure, set against the backdrop of the race to exploit Africa by the colonial powers.
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ISBN:
9780385543101
9780525524076
9780385543118
9780593607817
9780525524106
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Grouping Information

Grouped Work IDd588ac9f-b86e-facd-dbf1-3ca57c82a0d8
Grouping Titleriver of the gods genius courage and betrayal in the search for the source of the nile
Grouping Authorcandice millard
Grouping Categorybook
Grouping LanguageEnglish (eng)
Last Grouping Update2024-03-28 04:42:22AM
Last Indexed2024-03-28 05:56:57AM

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Michael, Paul (Actor)
author
Millard, Candice
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Millard, Candice
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Ashland Vaughn Public Library
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display_description
"From the New York Times bestselling author of RIVER OF DOUBT and DESTINY OF THE REPUBLIC, the stirring story of one of the great feats of exploration of all time, and its complicated legacy The Nile River is the longest in the world. Its fertile floodplain allowed for rise to the great civilization of ancient Egypt, but for millennia the location of its headwaters was shrouded in mystery. Pharaonic and Roman attempts to find it were stymied by a giant labyrinthine swamp, and subsequent expeditions got no further. In the 19th century, the discovery and translation of the Rosetta Stone set off a frenzy of interest in ancient Egypt. At the same time, European powers sent off waves of explorations intended to map the unknown corners of the globe - and extend their colonial empires. Two British men - Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke - were sent by the Royal Geographical Society to claim the prize for England. Burton was already famous for being the first non-Muslim to travel to Mecca, disguised as an Arab chieftain. He spoke twenty-nine languages, was a decorated soldier, and literally wrote the book on sword-fighting techniques for the British Army. He was also mercurial, subtle, and an iconoclastic atheist. Speke was a young aristocrat and Army officer determined to make his mark, passionate about hunting, Burton's opposite in temperament and beliefs. From the start the two men clashed, Speke chafing under Burton's command and Burton disapproving of Speke's ignorance of the people whose lands through which they traveled. They would endure tremendous hardships, illness, and constant setbacks. Two years in, deep in the African interior, Burton became too sick to press on, but Speke did, and claimed he found the source in a great lake that he christened Lake Victoria. When they returned to England, Speke rushed to take credit, disparaging Burton. Burton disputed his claim, and Speke launched another expedition to Africa to prove it. The two became venomous enemies, with the public siding with the more charismatic Burton, to Speke's great envy. The day before they were to publicly debate, Speke shot himself. Yet there was a third man on both expeditions, his name obscured by imperial annals, whose exploits were even more extraordinary. This was Sidi Mubarak Bombay, who was enslaved and shipped from his home village in East Africa to India. When the man who purchased him died, he made his way into the local Sultan's army, and eventually traveled back to Africa, where he used his resourcefulness, linguistic prowess and raw courage to forge a living as a guide. Without his talents, it is likely that neither Englishman would have come close to the headwaters of the Nile, or perhaps even survived. In RIVER OF THE GODS Candice Millard has written another peerless story of courage and adventure, set against the backdrop of the race to exploit Africa by the colonial powers"--
format_ashland
Book
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eAudiobook
eBook
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Audio Books
Books
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id
d588ac9f-b86e-facd-dbf1-3ca57c82a0d8
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last_indexed
2024-03-28T10:56:57.779Z
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Online OverDrive
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Ashland Vaughn Public Library
Ashland Vaughn Public Library Online
owning_location_ashland
Ashland Vaughn Public Library
Online OverDrive Collection
primary_isbn
9780385543101
publishDate
2022
publisher
Books on Tape
Doubleday
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Penguin Random House Audio
Random House Large Print
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
Audiobooks
Biographies
Bombay, Sidi Mubarak -- Travel -- Nile River
Burton, Richard Francis, -- Sir, -- 1821-1890 -- Travel -- Nile River
Explorers -- Biography
Explorers -- Nile River -- History -- 19th century
Large print books
Nile River -- Discovery and exploration
Nile River Valley -- Discovery and exploration
Speke, John Hanning, -- 1827-1864 -- Travel -- Nile River
Travel writing
True adventure stories
title_display
River of the gods : genius, courage, and betrayal in the search for the source of the Nile
title_full
River of the Gods Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile
River of the gods : genius, courage and betrayal in the search for the source of the Nile / Candice Millard
River of the gods : genius, courage, and betrayal in the search for the source of the Nile / Candice Millard
title_short
River of the gods
title_sub
genius, courage, and betrayal in the search for the source of the Nile
topic_facet
Biography & Autobiography
Bombay, Sidi Mubarak
Burton, Richard Francis
Discovery and exploration
Explorers
History
Nonfiction
Speke, John Hanning
Travel

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ils:.b21163078Large PrintBooksFirst large print editionEnglishRandom House Large Print[2022]xiv, 522 pages (large print), 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps, portraits, photographs ; 24 cm

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